King Salman declared, in a meeting with foreign dignitaries attending the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, that the Kingdom had made significant progress in eradicating terrorism aimed at attacking Saudi’s Muslim sites. Saudi Arabia, which stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites and organizing the annual haj pilgrimage, has been hit by bombings in recent years and uncovered plots to carry out attacks in Islam’s holiest site, the city of Mecca. King Salman said, “The limbs of terrorism have sought to harm the holy cities, paying no attention to their sanctity, but the kingdom, by the grace of God and in cooperation with its brothers and friends, has made big successes in eradicating terrorism and has worked decisively and with determination to dry its sources,” he declared.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims began the annual haj pilgrimage last week, donning traditional white garments and heading to a tent camp outside the city of Mecca in an itinerary retracing the route the Muslim Prophet Mohammad took some 14 centuries ago. Nearly 2 million Muslim worshippers, from nearly every country, arrived in Saudi Arabia for the five-day ritual, which is a once-in-a-lifetime religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. This year, in an effort to thwart any terror attacks on the Muslim pilgrims by rivals of the Saudi monarchs, the Saudi Arabian security forces marched through the streets in a show of force that would deter anyone from acting against them.